While generally true, they'll also keep the tires from skidding in a panic stop, and will give you a shorter stopping distance. How many people do you suppose actually practice threshold braking enough to be able to count on it when they really need it? I'd say for the average driver, they get control and shorter stopping distances.

You're not supposed to tune your carbs while riding your bike...

Hmm, I hadn't realized the car was an '04. Here I was thinking it was one of Porche's latest and greatest. Now this whole discussion feels stupid...

Beat me to it... Drive your car at 10/10ths of its capability in an uncontrolled environment and you have no margin for error and nobody to blame but yourself. There are no cars built today that approach anywhere near their full capabilities when driven in normal traffic and as such require 100% flawless driving.

God I'd love to have a 240z...

That's the thing though - how many kids kill themselves *every day* racing or otherwise driving like idiots in their Civics and Corollas? We don't need high performance cars to put ourselves in very dangerous situations.

This is a case of armchair accident analysts demanding something be done before knowing what the problem is.

Be fair - most of them only kill themselves.

But why? This isn't some mass market car, it is is an exotic meant for sitting outside of Starbucks and admiring (and also track days...). Stability control systems aren't simply a computer you plug into the car's CAN bus which magically glue the tires to the ground. There are design considerations for the entire vehicle suspension that are impacted by stability control. Heaps of sensors and other devices to control the motor, brakes, and more.

On top of this, we're talking about a car that costs what... 250k? More? (I didn't look up the price...). There will be a handful of these on the streets, typically owned by rich people who don't drive them anyway. You're trying to force nannies into a rich man's toy in an attempt to save one, maybe two people - people who by nature would have disabled the nannies anyway.

There are plenty of cars sold through normal retail channels without stability control. Plenty more where it's defeatable with the push of a button.

Shoulda clarified... Dinosaurs that don't yet know they're extinct.

You can't credit non-specific neurological differences and turn around and call my arguments ignorant. Well, I mean, you can, but that's just silly. Fact is, women used to be far more prevalent in mathematics and computing than they are today. It's not that their "puny female minds" can't comprehend the work, it's that society pushes them toward more "feminine" pursuits than computers. Given a depressing perusal of the /. commentary here, I'd say the industry is also doing a bang-up job of pushing them out as well.

Can't tell if serious or... oh god, you are serious.

If this were Jalopnik I'd post an image captioned "Bitch, are you for real?" It would get so many recommends. But alas, this is /., and I gotta say, given though the discussions on tech topics is usually quite enlightening, reading a lot of commentors views on this story is excruciatingly depressing. My only solace is that most of us don't leave our basements and as such don't influence others with our ridiculous world views.

...so they go into education and other fields with lower earnings potential and more work hours?

Bravo my friend, brilliantly executed!

I'm guessing he's merely pointing out that bigotry is certainly alive and kicking on /.